How does Portsmouth Handicap work?
The Erie Dinghy Fleet racing involves mixed fleets (different classes of boat, different ages, weights and abilities of sailors). Knowing this in advance we can organize on a handicap basis. The most commonly used handicapping system is the Portsmouth yardstick, which assigns a different rating to each class of boat in a mixed fleet and (at least in theory) gives every boat an equal chance of winning. Handicaps can also be personal (sometimes called a back-calculated yardstick), taking into account the results of the sailor over past races, so an inexperienced person who sails significantly better than previously over a season or regatta can win on handicap. Because of the use of handicap events, sailors of any age can be competitive.
